Light or dark for cover up job?

[TaupePanda]

So, we are buying a large victorian house - finally. It's been a two year hunt!

It's a bit of a tip but livable. It will ultimately need a full renovation but we won't have the money to get it all done.

Instead we're focusing on the basement - which has some damp so want to tackle that - and then other fundamentals like new boiler and rendering. Basically make it water tight and warm in the winter.

Then we'll work our way through other stuff. My husband is optimistically thinking our budget will stretch but it absolutely won't, so I think we'll be covering stuff up and making do for a couple of years.

So my question is what sort of colours / tones cover up uneven walls etc well? White doesn't do it - we know from our last house that white shows up every bump and scratch. For our sons' room we though a darkish blue might help to cover up the worst of it, with nice carpets etc. But, does that actually cover things up? The internet seems to be in two minds - creates shadows or covers sins - so some real world recommendations would be useful.

The walls are not in terrible condition but the ceilings are cracking in places and the walls would ideally all be nicely replastered. There is old fashioned textured wallpaper in the hallway that will almost certainly bring plaster with it when we pull it off - so we're going to paint that for now and live with it - that sort of thing.

Anyone used paints to patch up a house for a bit, and felt they did a good, medium-term job? Thanks

Congrats, its took us 2 years too. Such a long and stressful journey.

I think dark colors (especially matt one) are worse for hiding bad walls. In the photos of the house we are buying, on viewing most rooms are light colours but 2 are painted dark red and dark purple and those are the two where you can see every bump, texture, ding and brush stroke.

Make sure the paint you use for walls has a flat matt finish rather than ones with any sheen, which shows more bumps. If you go for dark colours, choose a high pigment paint eg Little Greene/ Farrow & Ball or you'll end up having to use loads of coats. LG's Absolute Matt Emulsion is wipeable and virtually no sheen at all. Farrow & Ball's Dead Flat Emulsion is also washable.

In my old house, I have found that the colour is less important than the type of paint finish when it comes to painting over uneven surfaces. The less sheen the better, which is why I go for the really matt ones. I painted my bedroom in LG's Absolute Matt Emulsion 'Ambleside' and the conservatory in 'Hicks Blue' - both dark and I'm pleased with the coverage. I painted the hall and kitchen in paler colours: 'Bone China Blue - Faint' and 'Slaked Lime'. I used their Intelligent Matt Emulsion for these spaces because it's more robust (but as flat as the Absolute).

It's expensive paint but I've tried cheaper paint on my walls before and they didn't look as good as they do now.